Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Keeto the Jungle Boy is a true golden age rarity. Other than this lone appearance from Animal Comics #6 (Dec.1943-Jan.1944) originally published by Dell; his only other published adventure was in Crackajack Funnies #43 (Jan.1942), almost two years earlier. This story badly rips off author Rudyard Kipling's classic 'The Jungle Book', but the artwork by Tom Hickey is actually not too shabby. So, here is Keeto and Krufa the brown bear versus a gang of surly baboons. The Catacombs is grateful to Don "Zu-Gogo" Falkos for providing the scans for this story. Note: The copyright for this issue, its contents and artwork belong to the original publisher and/or creators and is reproduced here solely for entertainment purposes.Enjoy!

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

I inadvertently skipped last weeks chapters, but creator/writer/editor Irving Crump's "Og, Son of Fire", continues the serialized adventures of a cave boy who lived half a million years ago. The character was originally introduced within the pages of Boys Life magazine in December 1921. The artwork on these strips from The Funnies #6 and #7 (Mar./Apr.1937); originally published by Dell, may be the work of artist Stephen Slesinger, since the illustrations are re-purposed in color from a black & white 1936 Big Little Book version copyrighted to Slesinger. Dell serialized "Og, Son of Fire" in issues of "The Funnies" from January to November of 1937 (comprising issues 4-14 in two page snippets). I'll be presenting all of them in pairs on subsequent Tuesdays until I run out. The Catacombs is grateful to Don "Zu-Gogo" Falkos for providing the scans for these stories. Note: The copyright for both issues, all contents and artwork belong to the original publisher and/or creators and is reproduced here solely for entertainment purposes.Enjoy!

Monday, November 28, 2011

The Red Panther stars in “Tale of the Black Orchid” from Jungle Comics #6 (June 1940); originally published by Fiction House. The story is credited to ‘Taylor Martin’ on the splash page, but Arthur Peddy was the artist on this previously untitled five page mini-epic, so I christened it accordingly. The Catacombs is grateful to Don "Zu-Gogo" Falkos for providing the scans for this story. Note: The copyright for this issue, all contents and artwork belong to the original publisher and/or the creators and are reproduced here solely for entertainment purposes.Enjoy!

Friday, November 25, 2011

I really thought that this young lady was gonna prove too "young" for me to feature as this weeks "gal" Friday pick, but Alexandra Daddario is actually twenty-five years old. That's sufficient for me to give you dummies a look at my pick for Wonder Woman, should Hollywood ever pull it's collective head out of its ass. She also previously starred in Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, which gives her a degree of mythological genre cred for starters. Then there's the whole smoking hot brunette thing going on for the native New Yorker. I'm gonna just let the thought percolate for a bit and see if the universe is paying attention.

Tiger Girl (aka Princess Vishnu) tackles a ruthless band of slavers who are plaguing the Bantu People alongside her usual allies, Abdola, Togara & Benzali in a thrilling tale called "Trail of Doom" from Fight Comics #49 (Apr.1947); originally published by Fiction House. The story is credited to 'Allan O'Hara' and the lovely art is by Matt Baker and Jack Kamen. The Catacombs is grateful to Don "Zu-Gogo" Falkos for providing the scans for this story. Note: The copyright for this issue, its contents and artwork belong to the original publisher and/or creators and is reproduced here solely for entertainment purposes.Enjoy!

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Happy Thanksgiving, one and all! Here is an early "turkey" to whet your appetites for the bigger feast that awaits tomorrow. Jungle Jo stars in a tale entitled "Exile Dangerous" from Terrors of the Jungle #21 (Feb. 1953); originally published by Star Publications (although this feature was reprinted from an earlier 1950 Fox series called "Jungle Jo") that initially republished Jo-Jo Congo King stories, before ceding over space to this jungle lord wannabe.

As a character, Jungle Jo is really lame, and the Grand Comic Database doesn't even list any creator credits for this story. Maybe they feel the same way? Still, the Catacombs is grateful to Don "Zu-Gogo" Falkos for providing the scans for this story. Note: The copyright for this issue, its contents and artwork belong to the original publisher and/or creators and is reproduced here solely for entertainment purposes.Enjoy!

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

In the wilderness of India, Jan the Jungle Boy encounters many dangers. Today he and his ape friend, Kaang, encounter an unfortunate incursion by "manlings" in an untitled tale from Rangers Comics #45 (Feb. 1949), originally published by Fiction House. I've christened this super-nice story, "The Glowing God", but you'll have to read until the very end to see why this was the logical choice. The story is signed "Coleman Hart", but the excellent artwork is by Enrico Bagnoli. The Catacombs is grateful to Don "Zu-Gogo" Falkos for providing the scans for this story. Note: The copyright for this issue, its contents and artwork belong to the original publisher and/or the creators and is reproduced here solely for entertainment purposes. Enjoy!

Monday, November 21, 2011

I've frequently introduced you fine folks to golden age jungle characters who've not previously appeared in the Catacombs, but today brings to a close one classic hero's run. "The Plot of Buckler Borgia" from Science Comics #6 (July 1940); originally published by Fox, features the last Marga the Panther Woman tale that I have available. There is no listed credit for James T. Royal in the GCD, and no actual creator names appear on any of the scanned pages. Chronologically this is not Marga's actual swan song, but the story does close out in such a way that it makes for a nice send off for this all but forgotten heroine - at least as far as the Catacombs is concerned. The Catacombs is grateful to Don "Zu-Gogo" Falkos for providing the scans for this story. Note: The copyright for this issue, its contents and artwork belong to the original publisher and/or creators and is reproduced here solely for entertainment purposes.

Saturday, November 19, 2011

I've been enjoying the Kirby: Genesis series from Dynamite quite a bit, but frankly red flags started going up for me recently as solicitations started rolling out for a plethora of spin-off titles from this still newly launched series (based on various properties created by the late Jack " King" Kirby). All that I can say about this particular spin-off book is, thank god for websites that post preview pages of current comics (often several days or weeks before the things actually show up on the racks), because just as I had expected, this is a train wreck orchestrated by a sorry excuse of an artist.

Take a look at this great Alex Ross cover featuring the good Captain, and his Galactic Rangers. Yeah, that's nice isn't it? Ross doesn't draw the interior pages, and neither does regular Kirby: Genesis illustrator Jack Herbert. The folks at Dynamite also released this steaming mass under a few alternate covers as if to cloud the issue. Sadly, some of us still have the ability to recognize shit from Shinola. Now, put your money back in your pockets, and buy something else. THIS BOOK IS A TURD WRAPPED IN CELLOPHANE.

How it all began ....

In 1933, publishers at Eastern Color Press, intent to make better use of their printing equipment (which frequently sat idle between jobs), came up with the idea of printing an 8-page comic section that could be folded down from the large broadsheet to a smaller 9-inch by 12-inch format. The result was the first modern comic book. Containing reprints of newspaper comic strips, this experimental comic book titled "Funnies On Parade" was given away for free. It proved so popular that the following year Eastern published "Famous Funnies" and took the bold step of selling the comic for ten cents through chain stores. The enterprise was a smashing success and Eastern began churning out numerous reprints on a monthly basis. Other publishers, eager to get in on the profits, jumped on the bandwagon and the comic book industry was born!